


Heart-Shaped Scars

by HazelBeka



Series: 101 Uses for a Barrier Seal [11]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Gen, M/M, Pre-Relationship, seals master Iruka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:07:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27961268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelBeka/pseuds/HazelBeka
Summary: Kakashi has started taking detours from his ANBU patrols to check in on Iruka while he's teaching. Not because helikesIruka or anything, but because the children in his class are a menace.During one of these visits, he notices that Iruka’s hands are covered in scars from teaching weapons training. Kakashi wonders why he doesn’t simply use a barrier seal to shield himself…and discovers that, to Iruka, some things are worth a little pain to protect.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Series: 101 Uses for a Barrier Seal [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/373676
Comments: 59
Kudos: 437





	Heart-Shaped Scars

Naruto very carefully gripped the shuriken in the Iruka-approved manner, and then drew his arm up over his head and flung it like he was pitching a volleyball over a net, shrieking across the field to Iruka as he did.

“Iruka-sensei, watch, watch! It’s totally a bullseye…oh.”

The shuriken didn’t make it anywhere near the target, or at least not the target Naruto had been aiming at. It came close to the target several metres to the left, however, falling to the grass just short of it.

“That’s the one I was aiming at,” Naruto said quickly. “Let me try again.”

“You’ve already had three goes,” Sasuke said, shoving him out of the way. “It’s my turn. Maybe you’ll even learn something if you watch.”

He raised his own shuriken in the proper stance, and then Naruto shoved him back, and Kakashi wondered if he should step in or let them murder each other.

Thankfully, Iruka hurried over just then, drawn either by the shouting or by his teacherly instincts for danger, which Kakashi considered more well-honed than some of his ANBU colleagues. He plucked the shuriken out of Sasuke’s grip with one hand and lifted Naruto off the ground with the other, dropping him back down out of Sasuke’s reach.

Kakashi tuned out the yelling as he surveyed the rest of the class. Weapons training took place behind the Academy on the training grounds, far enough from the school building that no stray projectile would break a window, and five wooden targets were lined up on the grass for the students to aim at. The class had been split up into five groups, who were supposed to be forming orderly queues as they waited their turn to throw a shuriken, but very few of them had mastered the art of queuing. Even fewer had mastered basic weapons safety, and Kakashi was very glad of his body armour even though he was standing behind the kids and theoretically out of the line of fire. Despite this, he’d already had to deflect three shuriken and he was starting to worry both for his own safety and for the future of the village.

He looked over at Naruto when he registered a drop in the noise level that meant Iruka was done with his scolding. There was still the background clamouring of twenty plus children, but Iruka, to Kakashi’s pride, could out-yell them all. Right now, Iruka was heading towards Kakashi, looking exhausted even though class had only started ten minutes ago.

“I told you to keep an eye on them,” he grumbled as he knelt beside the box full of shuriken and picked up the jumbo-sized box of plasters next to it. One of his fingers was bleeding enough to make a mess of his whole hand, and Kakashi helpfully held the box while Iruka unwrapped a plaster. It was blue and had pictures of ANBU masks on it.

“I thought it was best to leave them to the professional,” Kakashi said. “ANBU training didn’t cover children with weapons. Not in a way you’d approve of, anyway.”

Iruka sucked the worst of the blood off his finger and wound the plaster around the scratch one-handed in a deft, well-practiced move.

“If you’re not going to help me then you could carry on with whatever your actual job is,” Iruka said, raising an eyebrow pointedly before glancing back at the kids and scanning for trouble. The whole class looked like a chaotic mess to Kakashi’s eyes, but it passed whatever standards Iruka had because he didn’t immediately dash off to yell at anyone else.

“I’m on my lunch break,” Kakashi said.

“It isn’t even eleven o’clock yet.”

“I’m more of a brunch guy. And I just happened to be passing and saw you in the midst of a rain of shuriken and was concerned for your safety.”

Iruka snorted. “That makes two of us.” He started patting his pockets for something, and then absentmindedly drew out a seal and smoothed out the creases from the paper. “You know, I’ve noticed recently that only your patrol brings you past the Academy. None of the other ANBU who patrol the village at this time of day pass by.”

Kakashi became very interested in the students currently raining shuriken everywhere but into the targets.

“I guess everyone else is slacking off,” he said.

Iruka’s lips twitched up. “So you’re not coming specially to see me? I’m hurt.”

“I didn’t say I…that is, uh…”

ANBU training also hadn’t covered how to talk to cute guys. Kakashi was considering submitting a request that they immediately add it to the curriculum.

Iruka’s eyes were still on the kids, but he was trying not to smile. It was distracting, drawing Kakashi’s gaze to his lips. Iruka really did have a beautiful smile even when he was trying to hide it – could anyone blame him for getting a little tongue-tied?

One of the kids ran over and Iruka’s smile was instantly gone.

“Are you all right?” he asked, eyes flashing over the kid, searching for blood.

“We ran out of shuriken,” the kid said, eyeing the box by Iruka’s feet.

Iruka crouched down and grabbed a handful, stacking them neatly before handing them over. As he did, Kakashi noticed that Iruka was already up to three ANBU-patterned plasters on that hand. Beneath the bright colours, Iruka’s hand was lined with scars, all small and pale, some almost faded completely but still visible under Kakashi’s sharp gaze.

Once the kid had walked back to his group – he’d started back at a run but had only made it three paces before Iruka had yelled at him about running with sharp objects – Kakashi pointed at Iruka’s hand.

“Are those all from teaching weapons classes?”

Iruka glanced at him and then looked down at his hand.

“You mean the scars? Yeah, it’s one of the hazards of the job. I tried wearing gloves but I got sick of buying new pairs every time they got ripped to shreds.”

Kakashi’s gaze shifted to Iruka’s other hand, which was still idly holding the seal. Between Iruka’s fingers, he could make out the symbols for a barrier.

“But why don’t you just shield yourself? You don’t have to _catch_ every poorly aimed weapon that comes your way.”

“That’s because…” Iruka was interrupted by a shout from one of the students. “Hold that thought.”

A minor argument had broken out between two girls, and Iruka hurried to break it up. As he scolded them, Kakashi idly wondered what time it was. He probably should get back to his patrol soon. He was already way off schedule, although privately he considered that the unpredictability of his patrols was what made them effective. The hokage, however, tended to the view that ogling Iruka instead of working made them even less effective than the predictably scheduled patrols. They had agreed to disagree on this point; or, at least, Kakashi had decided not to get caught on his detour a second time.

Just as he’d decided he ought to get going, he caught sight of an orange blur in his peripherals and turned to see Naruto running towards the target, exactly as Iruka had instructed the whole class _not_ to do at the beginning of the lesson. Behind him, Sasuke didn’t seem to care that there was a classmate in his way and had moved so he could try and aim his next shuriken around Naruto.

“Hey, don’t throw that!” Kakashi barked.

Iruka’s head whipped around in time to see the flick of Sasuke’s wrist as he threw the shuriken, and Naruto darting straight into its path. A barrier formed around Naruto in time for the shuriken to bounce off its side. Naruto also bounced off the inside of the barrier, not having stopped in time. He saw the shuriken fall into the grass mere inches from him and turned to Sasuke in outrage.

“I _said_ don’t throw it until I get my lucky shuriken back!”

“And _I_ said don’t move in front of the target, moron!”

Kakashi’s shoulders relaxed, and he turned back to Iruka. Some of the other kids had stopped what they were doing in order to watch, but some of them hadn’t, and one boy, distracted by the shouting but still trying to take his turn, sent a shuriken spinning in Iruka’s direction.

Iruka never took his eyes off Naruto. His hand shot up and caught it, and he winced but never let down the barrier around Naruto, who was still, Kakashi realised, in danger from the other children. Suddenly, he understood why Iruka’s hands were so marked by scars. The barrier was for the children’s safety. If he used it for himself, it wouldn’t be free if one of the children needed protecting.

“Everyone stop!” Iruka bellowed. “The next person who throws a shuriken will be writing me an essay on weapons safety.”

Several guilty hands lowered their weapons.

“On second thoughts,” Iruka said. “I think it’s time we all had a refresher on how to not kill each other.”

“You’re literally training us to kill people,” Sasuke pointed out, a definite sulk in his voice.

“ _On purpose_ not by accident!”

There was a scolding of epic proportions on the cards and Kakashi decided this was a good time to sneak away. He hadn’t got further than a couple of steps, though, before he found himself caught in the same barrier that had saved Naruto moments before.

“That goes for you too, Hound,” Iruka called. “Since you keep coming around, you get the safety lecture too.”

“But Iruka-sensei,” Kakashi whined.

“If you want to keep bothering me while I’m teaching then you’ll learn the rules like everyone else.”

Iruka had him there. The barrier vanished, and Kakashi scooped up the box of plasters before he trudged over to the group of children. He earned himself a small smile when he bandaged Iruka’s cut, and then he sat cross-legged next to the kids and listened to the lecture so he could come again tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> Iruka set him the safety essay. Kakashi turned it in at next week’s lesson and got a ‘well done’ sticker that he proudly wore on his chest plate for the rest of the day
> 
> This fic is for the talented [KeithYEET](https://twitter.com/yeetkeith?lang=en) who inspired it with his headcanon that Iruka has scars on his hands from teaching kids how to handle weapons. Since my Iruka is the barrier guy, I wondered how those two ideas could work together...and here's what I came up with. Definitely check out Keith's twitter for some super cute art and animations <3


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